I'm going to my first Rallycross this weekend and was wondering if there's anything special I need to do for the car in preparation. The track is very smooth, even smooth enough for a 3rd gen to run it from what I understand.

I'm looking for advice on;

a. What setting for Illumina shocks/struts? Go with a lower setting for most traction, or harder setting for easier transition into the slide?

b. Starting tire pressure for Sumitomo HTR 200 205/60/13.

c. Any other advice.

I've done about 8 events on pavement, but this will be my first off road experience. I do have lots of experience driving in snow though, so I figure it will be like that only with really good traction.

Mods are listed in my sig. Sway bar in front is stock, rear is removed. Thanks guys...

 

Check your rear suspension for full travel - look for binding or other funny things happening.

You may regret the Racing Beat springs.

 

Why? So far they have been great...

 

For dirt or off road you'll want softer springs to make the suspension more compliant on the lower grip surface. The RB springs may or may not be better than stock when on dirt.

Off road race vehicles run much lower spring rates and incorporate much more suspension travel as well. Completely different from asphalt cars.

 

Okay, I see what you're saying. Just to clarify, my car is set up for AutoX and this dirt race is like a one time thing. I'm not looking for advice on major changes, just what tweaks I can make to prepare for the dirt. Since this track is supposed to be very smooth, I think my setup will work ok. I'm thinking I'll just put the Illuminas on their softest setting and go from there. Thanks for your advice...

 

How much travel can a FB get anyway is what I wonder with the stock rear control arms...

 

Id try to adjust for height as much as yo ucan and soften the shocks if adjustable... as much as you can. And use narrower tires too. See if someone has some offroad or rally tires that would fit used you could buy or borrow.

And yeah, an auto-x car is not gonna be good in the dirt. Theyre two completely different kinds of racing with almost opposite demands on the suspension.

 

The most experienced rallycrosser I know is PeeJay, he does a lot of event and his car is designed for these events, PM him.

I have run many stage rallies back in Aus but they don't really compare to Rallycross.

Narrow chunky tires (or purpose built dirt rally tires) and suspension travel are essential

 

Suspension setup will depend entirely on the type of surface. The great thing about RallyX is that it can be part tarmac, gravel, sand, mud, and hardpack/clay all in one run. Also depends how loose the surface is and how much it will rut up over the course of the day. I tend to run my suspension pretty stiff if the surface has a lot of elevation changes/ruts/etc. Last thing I want is my front or rear end coming up because of a big bump.

Ruts, holes and berms also play a lot into your tire pressures. Plan on being sideways quite a bit more than is normal for autox, and when you're going sideways at speed on street tires, they will roll over and if you fall into a rut/hole while sliding, the tire will come right off the bead. Keep that in mind and inflate or overinflate as conditions merit. If you are running a rally tire with reenforced sidewall you can get away with a lot less pressure for improved traction.

Also since you are RWD, you may want to adjust the suspension and pressure in the rear to minimize the oversteer.

But mostly just go out there and have fun. RallyX can be a real blast

 

Anyone got any general information about how the rear end of the car is set up and how much travel you can get out of it, and what parts would need modifications?

 

That's what I do I rallyx my multicolor RX-7 in the prepared class - only because I had some stuff in the garage that I put on the car when I brought it back from the dead. Anyway since then I've put an adjustable suspension on it. I raise it up for rallyx and slap on my Kumho R700's RallyX is so much fun you really won't care how you finish.

Just for info I've got 300# springs on the front and 170# springs in the rear. Old Tokico non adjustable shocks. I used to rallyx this on some other springs (which actually lowered the car) but found myself hitting the bumpstops quite frequently.

Go have some fun!!!

 

Thanks for all of the input guys. I'll try to get some pics of the event for posting.

 

having some fun

 

I've heard that snow tires work pretty well in the dirt, if you happen to have a set lying around.

Have fun, and don't forget to clean (or change) your air filter after the event.

-s-

 

Stiffen up the front, soften up the rear, up the damper rates a bit, and snow tires seem to work better than rally tires.

I only have 150lb front springs (stage rally use 250ish) but my rear suspension is so compliant that when I go up an angled driveway, the car moves with the front suspension, the rear just articulates. It's awesome.

The main problem is front up-travel - there isn't much. In the rear, there's all sorts of travel available if you fix the awful geometry. Stock travel is about 6" in the front and about 8" in the back - I use it all. I have the marks in the floor where the driveshaft hits to prove it



Oh yeah and learn to drive!!

 

Thanks Peejay, I'll give that a shot.

 

Well, I kind of got my @ss handed to me... The track was a lot rougher than advertised, and it just came down to the fact that I wasn't will to risk the total destruction of my car. If you weren't willing to totally throw the car into the corners (ruts and all) then you weren't going to get a good time. There were several cars that ended up with blown tires, suspension damage, a broken axle, and at least one near flip. I think there were several cars that were not driven home that day. I made three runs, took some photos (which I will try to post later) and then took my baby home before she got hurt. I think I'd better give her a good cleaning to show I still care. lol.

 

Oh yeah, I think the biggest thing that I was lacking was tire tread. Sumitomos just don't have the traction that is needed for this, hell, mine are practically slicks right now!

 

Yeah, RallyX can be pretty abusive on cars. Performance rally is always a race of attrition anyway. Not so much in RallyX, but there are always a few mechanical DNFs. Some events are very smooth and some are very rough. One of the venues in my neck of the woods is mostly smooth clay. It's so hard it doesn't really get rutted up unless it's wet, and once the loose top layer has been scrubbed off, people are actually squealing their tires on the dirt around hairpins. Some people swear by street tires for that kind of surface.

Anyways, chalk it up to a learning experience but don't get discouraged. Each venue is a different challenge.

 

That's the fun thing about RWD. You have to enter corners with 100% commitment, with the setup starting at the previous corner *or earlier*. FWD you just sorta brake, steer, and power your way through. It's faster, but not as fun.

Ruts aren't a problem, you just aim to ride in them instead of sliding into 'em after the fact. Go a lot faster that way too Unless you mean cross-course ruts, in which case I'd be having a serious talk with the event's Safety Steward, especially if "incidents" were occurring. It's not unusual for the course to be rerouted several times during a WOR event.

 

COMMIT!

 

The race took place on a dirt race track, like a big go cart track is how it was laid out. The sides of the track were made up of high burms, so if you screwed up you were pretty much assured that you wouldn't be driving your car home. You'll see better once I get the pics up. Commitment on a track like the corner that you posted Peejay would be a lot easier to deal with (that looks like a lot of fun!), but like I said, the stakes were a bit higher this past weekend. Also, a lot of the ruts were crosswise to the course (that's what was causing all the damage on turn 2). Midway through the 2nd heat they finally shut it down so that it could be graded again. I'll post pics as soon as I can.

 

It sounds like your course was in severe violation of the GCR.


BTW - that corner was the beginning of a hairpin after a short left after a short straight after a 90deg left after a boggy 120deg right... Setting up for that corner started at the 120deg right

And yes, it's a lot of fun! At the end of an event, there's usually a line of people who want to have a ride. All they have to do is cover the free-run charge ($1), grab the door cup with one hand, grab the door pull with the other hand, and hang on! Maybe if I had decent tires, I could convert all of that flash into speed. In other cars (read: FWD) I get times that would place me really well, so I don't think it's a driver problem. Still plugging away anyway, just 'cos it's so much FUN.

 

Wow, I'd say the course was definitely not right then. I'm trying to download the pics from the camera but having issues. I'll have to try again when I get home tonight. That will give you the idea of what I'm saying when describing the course.

 

Okay, I finally got the pics loaded onto my home computer. However, they are huge and I'll have to resize them before I can post them. No time, no time, no time.... Soon though, I promise!